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China Poised to Approve Crackdown on Foreign NGOs

Chinese police question a man in Tiananmen Square, next to the Great Hall of the People, the venue for upcoming meetings of China's legislature in Beijing on March 2, 2015.
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Greg Baker/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Chinese lawmakers are on the verge of approving a contentious law that treats overseas nonprofit groups as potential security threats. As WSJ’s Josh Chin reports:

Part of a campaign against unwanted foreign influences, the law is likely to expand the influence of the country’s domestic security forces and give police the power to put undesirable groups on a permanent blacklist. Lawmakers reviewed a third draft on Monday and the legislature’s legal committee was pushing for passage this week, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.

An earlier draft released a year ago unleashed a storm of criticism from foreign governments and nonprofit groups, which feared it would affect overseas entities from universities to charities to trade groups. Since then some controversial provisions have been removed, but others have been added, according to Xinhua.

One new provision would require that groups publicize funding sources and spending for all activities, according to Xinhua, while provisions removed include rules that would limit overseas nonprofits to a single office in China, force them to re-register every five years and restrict their ability to recruit staff and volunteers.